FARMINGTON – After raising an astounding $500 from a bean supper, Wilton’s Academy Hill School Girls Talk group donated a big stack of children’s book to the pediatric unit at Franklin Memorial Hospital on Wednesday.
Rebecca Ryder, Franklin Community Health Network president/CEO, pictured at left above, thanked Girls Talk representatives, from left to right: Jessica Haley, Rachel Mitchell and Stephanie Hastings, all sixth-grade students, for their group’s hard work and generosity.
The literacy-mentoring program is in its fourth year with 36, fifth- and sixth-grade students participating in a once a month dinner and book discussion. As an event, the girls decided to hold a take-out bean supper in February that proved very popular.
“We received guidance from the New Sharon church that has a take-out bean supper on how much to make,” said Katie Hallman, the school’s nurse and a participant in the program. “We had no idea it would be so successful.”
Once the money was raised, the students picked out books with the help of Kenny Brechner, owner of Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers in Farmington.
“We chose what we thought would be of interest to a variety of ages,” student Rachel Mitchell said.
Once the books were purchased, along with a cart to wheel them around to hospital rooms, each book cover was laminated so they can be wiped off between patient visits.
As the school year winds down, the sixth-grade students in Girls Talk graduating to Mt. Blue Middle School can look forward to having their mentor follow them in the seventh- and eighth-grade literacy/mentoring Teen Voices program, noted Jody Cook, Academy Hill School’s librarian.
From left to right: Karen Rogers, director of hospital education; Rebecca Ryder, Jessica Haley, Rachel Mitchell, Stephanie Hastings and Kristin Nichols, a maternal and child health registered nurse, all celebrate the book donation.
